Chapter Fifteen, Strife Running Rampant

Dean groaned awake. Reaching blindly for his phone and it's incessant ringing.
"Who's i-ss it?" Dean asked sleepily, without looking at the caller ID, it was five o'clock in the morning and two hours before he had to get up and get Amélie ready for school.
"YOU'RE A BLOODY DISGRACE! A RIGHT SELFISH PRICK DEAN!" The voice of John Winchester screamed down the phone at his eldest. Dean suddenly sat up in bed, an angry and confused frown upon his face.
"What're you talking about?" Dean asked, confused, his voice tight with suppressed anger. "And will you keep your voice down before you wake Amélie!" Dean hissed, green eyes blazing.

"THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!" John continued to rage. "You put that girl over your own blood! Over your brother and I! Over revenge for your mother and over hunting!!"
"I suggest you shut up right now before I make you!" Dean hissed darkly. "She is my daughter, your granddaughter and I love her. Far more than you ever loved Sam and I! Let me guess he whinged at you because I stopped hunting? Well, let me tell you something, John, you were a shitty father. I was a year older than Amélie when you stripped me of my childhood and taught me how to wield a gun and all sorts of weapons!

You made me raise Sammy at four years old, you were never once proud of me. Not once! I was never allowed to be a child and go to school, you pawned us off on strangers or left us in dodgy motels while you disappeared for weeks at a time. And I slip up once at ten years old and you still hold it over me!" Dean panted from exertion as he expressed all the pain and anger he'd had locked up inside him. "Well let me tell you, I'm already a better father than you ever were, not that it was hard, I will never leave my three year old daughter who has a heart condition alone for weeks at a time. I'll never let Amélie feel abandoned or mistreated. She'll never not know I'm extremely proud of her and will always know I love her. She won't be pawned off to strangers or left in dodgy motels where anyone could break in and do god knows what!

She is the light of my life in this shitty world and I won't allow you to take her from me! And I will never, ever put hunting above her health and well being!"
"That's all well and good, but the Strigga you let go is in Fitchburg, Wisconsin and countless children are sick and will die if you don't finish what you let go. Sam's already on his way there. Think about it." John sneered before he hung up the phone. Yelling in frustration Dean threw his backup phone at the wall with such a force it smashed on impact. Growling in frustration Dean placed his head in his hands.
"Daddy?" A quiet, scared voice asked from the doorway, Dean's head snapped up from his hands causing him to wince slightly as his neck clicked, all self deprecating thoughts vanished at the sight of his daughter.

"Come here baby." Dean coaxed his arms open wide and a soft smile upon his lips.
Clutching Coco tightly, Amélie ran towards her father's open arms that always exuded love, warmth and safety.
"It's okay baby. You're okay." Dean whispered, kissing her head while pulling her closer to his chest. "I'm sorry for waking you, your grandpa John is just in a bad mood." Running his fingers through her blond curls softly; letting out a sigh of relief when he felt her relax.
"He was scawy Daddy." Amélie whispered, snuggling closer to his neck.

"I know Princess, but know that he will never ever hurt you. Daddy will always protect you." Dean promised, pressing a kiss to her forehead before he laid down bringing his daughter under the covers.
"I wuv you Daddy." Amélie yawned, kissing Dean's cheek.
"I love you too, pumpkin. Go to sleep now. You have to go to nursery in a few hours." Dean ordered gently, with a gentle kiss to her forehead they both fell back asleep.

***

Several hours later Dean was on his way to his part time job as a construction worker while Amélie was at nursery, he was rather glad for it for it will put his so-called father's words out of his mind and help him to work through his anger constructively. As he opened the front door he came to an abrupt stop when he came face-to-face with Amelie's Godmother Cassie, who stood on his doorstep with her fist raised prepared to knock. Evidentially it was her as she had passed all of the rest he'd set up outside his door. Just because he was out doesn't mean he can be stupid and careless, he had Amélie and her safety to think of after all.

"Hey Dean." Cassie greeted, smiling widely, lowering her fist.
"Hey Cassie. Sorry I was about to head to work." Dean apologised, nodding to the hard hat in his hand, but his voice was still tight with anger.
"Right, sorry. I should've called first. I just wanted to surprise my Goddaughter, who is obviously at nursery." She realised with a wince after she checked the time on her wrist watch . "What's happened?" She asked concerned, noticing the anger in his green eyes. "And don't you dare say nothing Dean Winchester!" She said fiercely, pointing a finger at him. "I promised Simone I'd support you and Amélie and I intend to keep that promise. While also being the best Godmother to that little girl. Also, you know you've become a close friend of mine, family."

"I know." Dean sighed, running his hand through his short blond hair. "And you know I appreciate all you've done for me and Amélie over the years. My so-called father called me at five this morning." Dean revealed, simmering with anger just thinking about it.
"What did he want?" Cassie asked tightly, walking with Dean to the impala.
"He shouted at me calling me every name under the sun because I left Sam and hunting to protect my daughter. He wanted me to ditch her and join Sam in catching this Strigga that I let get away when I was a child. I laid out some home truths and hung up. But his shouting and woken Amélie despite my warnings and she was terrified, Cassie. The look on her face." Dean sighed, leaning against the impala.

Cassie was silent for a moment as she got her thoughts in order and her anger under control. She was very tempted to steal one of Dean's shotguns and hunt down Sam and John Winchester and fill them both with lead.
"Right, this is what we're going to do." Cassie ordered, clapping her hands. "You are going to go to work and put everything out of your mind, while I give your apartment some spring cleaning, cook us all dinner and visit Charles and Claudette to ignore the temptation to steal one of your shotguns and hunt down Sam and John Winchester and fill them both with lead." Dean snorted, trying and failing to hold in his laughter.
"Then, I will meet you at the nursery to pick up Amélie where we'll take her to the park like you usually do." Cassie finished as if Dean hadn't interrupted her.

Shaking his head as he knew he wouldn't win, Dean separated his door keys from his car keys and handed them to Cassie.
"Glad you see things my way." Cassie smirked. "Oh, before I forget I have a present in my car for Amélie."
"Cassie!" Dean shouted after her, half annoyed and half reluctant, but Cassie just ignored him as she walked away to the apartment. Shaking his head Dean got in the impala and headed to work. "Simone, why did you make me become friends with her again?" Dean asked dryly, staring at the home screen picture on his phone with true love expressed from every pour on his body.
It was the only picture he had of Simone holding Amélie with a tender, loving look on her face as she stared down at their beautiful sleeping daughter in her arms.

Whereas, Dean sat beside her with his arm around Simone's shoulders as he stared at the pair of them completely besotted. It was taken just moments before she died.
"I miss you so much my love and I love you so much." Dean whispered staring at his fiancée who had been weeks away from becoming his wife. "I've kept my promise I made to you about our beautiful daughter, and I hope you're proud and know I will never love anyone else. Only you. You were it for me. You would love our daughter. She's the perfect mix of us both, she's beautiful and kind like you; and funny and mischievous like me. You'd be so proud of her just like I am.

I love you so much my beloved Simone and miss you so much. I love our daughter so much too, perhaps more than you." Dean chuckled wetly. "She's a Daddy's girl but I bet she would have been a Mummy's girl too, she's always carrying around the cat you got her. I will continue to try and make you proud of how I'm raising our daughter and will love her for the both of us as I always have. We miss you and love you so much my darling." Kissing two fingers Dean placed them over the picture version of his beloved Simone. Locking the phone and chucking it onto the dashboard after which, Dean wiped away his tears and started the car mentally preparing himself for an emotionally long day.

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Author's note: should Dean go and help Sam? Should he take Amélie? Let me know what you think.